Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Look at Conjurer Steve Cohen

Aired March 08, 2002 - 08:52   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, unfortunately, you probably heard of the magician David Copperfield. I'm not a big fan of magic personally. I just thought I'd add that in. He's known for highly publicized stunts.

But Jeanne Moos conjures of this story of an old-fashioned presdidigiator (ph), who plans to take his heart-stopping action on a tour of five-star hotels.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some magicians perform heart- stopping stunts, but Steve Cohen stops his own heart as a volunteer taps out his pulse on a glass.

STEVE COHEN, CONJURER: I didn't realize I was that excited.

MOOS: Thirty-three seconds later, Steve comes out of his trance, leaving his audience entranced, especially the EMT who took Steve's pulse.

COHEN: It just stopped. My doctors recommend that I stop very, very soon, but I continue to do it.

MOOS: If you like your hocus-pocus high brow, "Chamber Magic" is for you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to attempt too steal your thoughts.

MOOS: Other magicians get buried alive, but Steve performs high above ground in the 37th floor suite where the duke and duchess of Windsor used to stay at the Waldorf Astoria. An audience member holding a watch silently picked a number.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm attempting right now to move the hands of the watch the same number of minutes that you have in your mind. Would you please tell us, has the time changed on your watch?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God, you're too weird.

MOOS: The hand moved ahead the precise number of minute she had in her mind, 32.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did. I felt like a kinetic energy moved. MOOS: This is the way magicians used to perform in the 1800s in intimate salons. While flashier magicians try to get themselves out of a pickle, Steve uses a pickle in his act. Is there something inside? There is!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Folks took turns silently picking words out of books. I got the letter a? Anybody else get the letter a?

MOOS: A few letters later. I'm visualizing like a person like this pouring. What was the word you are thinking of yourself? Indeed bartender.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought it was wild. I thought it was absolutely fabulous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He amazed me.

MOOS (on camera): But how?

(voice-over): Steve does admit part of reading minds is reading body language.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have people put their chins up, so I'm looking at their Adam's apple. There's a whole bunch of different cues that people give off.

MOOS: The only trick he'd teach us is what he called a throwaway, the disappearing coin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two, three -- pen disappeared, it backfired, huh?

MOOS: There it is, up in his ear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I went, one, two, and then I came up here, put it in my ear, came back down, and made it look like it disappeared.

MOOS: Move over Harry Potter, Steve collects three rings from the audience, swirls them in a glass and seems to pass solid through solid, magic the old-fashioned way was met with stunned silence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's two ways we can do this show. One way is with applause, and the other is the way we're doing it right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com